Re: Buderus vs. Weil-McLain boiler, and expansion tank question

On Jul 31, 9:51 am, mapleman <kitz...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have a 50 year old, 1100 sq foot ranch house, with about 70 feet of
baseboard hot water radiators. Our boiler has failed and needs to be
replaced. Glad that I can deal with this in the summer and not have
an emergency situation in winter. I live in SE Wisconsin.

I have several quotes, and they all focus around two brands of
boilers: Weil-McLain and Buderus.

I am getting the impression that the Buderus is better made than the W-
M, though maybe I'm being led to that impression (i.e. maybe the
Buderus dealers are better sales people than the Weil-McLain dealers).
My best quote for a Buderus is about $1000(US) higher than the best
quote for a W-M, for a comparable (cast iron with similar AFUE)
boiler.

Is it worth it to spend the extra money for the Buderus, or is the W-M
a better value for the money?

Also, we currently have an expansion tank with no bladder. I have been
told that tanks with bladders tend to have bladder failure after ten
or twelve years and then need to be replaced, whereas tanks with no
bladders last for decades. Am I likely going to be OK staying with
the tank that I have, which probably was installed when the house was
built?

Thanks for your interest and I look forward to learning more about
these two brands of boilers.

Mapleman

If you plan to live and die in the house either boiler will do. Save
the money and go with the WM. ALso while your at it, take a look at
how you make hot water. If you have an indirect stay with it. Tkae
the extra savings by going with the WM and put this into a good
indirect hot water tank. If you currently have a tankless setup, then
I would seriously look into a boiler with an indirect setup.

As for the issue with the expansion tank, take the one with the
bladder. If they fail, which I have never seen, they are very
inexpesnsive and a DIYer can change it. To determine if the bladder
has failed, feel the bottom of the tank. It should be cool when
working and HOT when failed. To change it out, take the pressure out
of the system and unscrew. Then screw in the new one. The tanks come
precharged so you don't have to screw around with them.

-paul

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